The Recluse
by SillyAsASock
Summary: "Nothing changes except the scenery." or so he thought. Akuroku, Roxas' POV. Non/con, rape, sadism. Darker in later chapters.
1. Unforeseen

_It was hot, too hot, kids were laughing, the smell of sunscreen and propane filled the air. It was summer alright._

Weekend Barbeques in the suburbs, the men adorned in loose Hawaiian shirts, while the women dolled themselves up in sundresses, everyone smiling, drinking, and telling stories. Roxas always found these get togethers to be absurdly trite.

 ** _"I wonder how they find solace in the cliché of it all?"_** Roxas thought to himself longingly, sitting beneath an umbrellaed picnic table, shading himself from the heat. **_"I wish I could."_**

Roxas yawned, a bit tired, even though it was only mid-afternoon his internal clock was still set in another time-zone. The move to New Mexico from 'Bumfucknowhere' Ohio was draining to say the least. To accommodate his sleepiness, he grabbed his aviators off the tabletop to shield his baby-blues from the harsh sunlight.

While lost in thought, Roxas felt a tap on his shoulder, turning to see his mother gleaming, a bit drunk but he didn't mind.

"Isn't this fun?" She sat down next to him, coral locks frizzy from the heat. "I hated having no neighbors, or anyone around for that matter."

Roxas' mother was a kind, outgoing, woman, at thirty-six she was still stuck in the mindset of a twenty-year old. Roxas knew everyone has their flaws, if you pine for perfection all you will get is hurt, and her good really did outweigh her bad.

His mother pulled him in close with one arm _,_ he hadn't seen her with such a joyful aura since her last romantic plunder, aka the reason they went to and left Ohio.

"It's nice, pretty sure this place will cure my vitamin D deficiency." Roxas said, slinking away from her grasp a bit, it was too hot to be so touchy.

"Yeah, and maybe you'll finally get a tan." She quipped back, giving him a gentle pat on the back.

"Or the sun will lighten my hair even more, you always saw I'm not your child anyway."

His mother chuckled, reaching into her purse before retrieving a pack of cigarettes, looking over at the group of women smoking and drinking around a small firepit.

"Hey, can I get one of those?" Roxas asked before she could walk away again. His mother turned to face him completely, so no one could see what she was doing with her hands.

"Sure, but if you have to smoke it over there," She pointed to the east side of the property, where there was an incomplete fence he could stand behind. The last thing his mother wanted was for her new acquaintances to judge her for letting her sixteen-year-old son smoke. "Here take my drink too, I hate beer."

She handed him the cigarettes and beer underneath the table, and he gave her a 'Thank you.' With that, she was off again, trying to make new connections.

Roxas slipped the smokes into his pocket, and the unopened can and PBR in the other and made his stride across the yard quickly, no one taking notice of him. Behind the fence seemed to be someone else's driveway, no one was home though as there were no cars in it, he took no time in lighting it up the cigarette. Letting his mind drift with the smoke that poured out of his mouth, taking sips off his drink every few moments.

Roxas was content in watching the neighbor's kids play guns in the street, aiming tree branches at each other gleefully, only getting upset when someone would break one of their silly rules. "NO FAIR." A boy would squeal, it sort of reminded him of real warfare.

"Mind if I join you?"

Roxas jumped and dropped his cigarette, still holding his beer firmly, obviously startled by the very adult voice. He eyed the stranger, long florid strands of red hair framed his face, the rest was tucked behind him in a loose ponytail. He was dressed in a dress shirt, and slacks despite the heat, Roxas wondered what he did for a living but didn't want to be intrusive. The man was lanky, and had a gaunt yet somewhat handsome face.

He looked amused.

"Sorry, didn't you mean to spook you." The man said as Roxas snatched the still lit cigarette from his fingers, playing it cool as he puffed on it.

"No, no you're alright, man." Roxas blurted out, a sheepish smile gracing his own features somewhat staring at the man standing beside him as he leaned against the fence, and lit up a cigarette of his own. They stood there for a moment in silence, Roxas had no idea what to say, he was just happy he didn't realize how old he was.

"So, you here for the party?" The man asked, darting his green eyes toward Roxas inquisitively.

"Yea, are you?" Roxas returned the question, staring at his cigarette, trying to mask that he was slightly unnerved still.

"No," He trailed off a moment signaling toward the two-story suburban house. "This is my house, and well, my driveway. Not to worry, I don't mind the occasional teenage squatter." He chuckled, flicking some ashes off the end of his smoke.

"Well, I'm actually 21 at least so there's that." He lied defensively, hoping to gain some credit after basically using his property to smoke illegally.

The man chuckled again. "Got a name?"

"Roxas." He retorted. "And yours?"

"Axel."

They stood there in silence another moment, Roxas' cigarette burning out while Alex's was halfway.

"Well, I better get back to the party…It nice meeting you, Axel." Roxas blurted out, without giving him a chance to really respond besides the 'Yeah you too.' He heard from a distance, tossing the empty beer can in his neighbors hedge before he sauntered back over to the barbeque.

Roxas checked his watch, _**"Shit, it's only 6:30."**_ He looked for his mother at the firepit, but she wasn't to be seen amongst the other wives, and winos. Roxas made his way around the yard, ducking and swaying to avoid the husbands and wives carrying around red solo cups filled with mixed drinks, running after their children telling them it was nearly time to go.

With no sign of her outside, he went into his neighbor's sunroom, through the kitchen to the downstairs bathroom. Inside he could hear sounds of splashing and guttural moans. The door was unlocked, so he walked inside to see his mother in a prayer position at the toilet, the smell of red wine and bile pungent in air.

"Honey is that you?" She groaned, unable to lift her head up to see him, before purging once more.

 _ **"Oh lord, she got way too drunk…"**_

"Mum, stand up and come with me…I'll drive us home…" Roxas spoke softly, grabbing her elbow to help her gain her balance as she stood. This was nothing new for the boy the handle, even with his lack of license he'd had to drive her home from the pub in Ohio quite a few times. She's always trying to keep up with her friends when it comes to drinking, and forgets she's a tiny lightweight.

They made their way out of the house, gaining a few looks from attendees outside, as Roxas held her up on one shoulder and brought her to the car. He set her down in the passenger seat, she was mumbling incoherent 'Thank yous' as he rolled down the window incase she'd need to puke again. Roxas was glad their new Volvo wasn't a stick, since he barely knew how to work one of those without stalling it.

Roxas proceeded to drive a quarter mile down the street, his mother passed out while the car rocked her to sleep. _**"Yeah she's kind of a fuck-up, but she's only human."**_ He thought to himself as he pulled into their driveway. Their house wasn't as pretty as the others, whoever the previous owners were they didn't do much upkeep. Weeds grew through the cracks in the pavement of the driveway, beige paint was chipping off the side of the house. It was sad, the house had good bones but it was mistreated.

It was getting dark, but thankfully the porch light was on to illuminate the path inside. Roxas unbuckled himself and got out of the car, then went to go open the passenger side door. When he did, he could barely catch his mother before she fell on the ground, as she was leaning against the door. It took some effort but he managed to get her inside, he didn't have the life in him to take her all the way up to the second floor to her bedroom, so he settled for the couch. Plus, it was closer to the bathroom if she needed it anyways.

Roxas let a sigh escape his lips, looking at the boxes strewn around the living space. They still hadn't unpacked and this was the fourth day being there. His mother's procrastination he most definitely inherited.

 _ **"Nothing ever changes, except the scenery."**_ This was their second time moving in the past year, it was sort of pathetic but his mother was his only friend now-a-days.

With that thought, he poured himself a glass of water before retreating for the night. When Roxas had heard the basement was furnished he took no time in claiming it. It was always so hot in the rest of the house, but the basement was always cooler naturally, plus he had a deadbolt on the door, like most teenagers he preferred his privacy. Right now it was pretty messy, he still hadn't put together the frame for his bed so he slept on a mattress on the floor. White Christmas lights were the only source of irradiation, and he starred up at them as he laid on his bed, pondering the 'What if's" until he fell asleep.

 _ **"What if Mum never finds love?"**_

 _ **"What if I don't like this new town?"**_

 _ **"What if I never find solace in the little things?"**_

 _ **"What is happiness anyway?"**_


	2. Unexpected

When Roxas awoke it was already well past noon, he'd noticed that the over-sleeping had become habitual since no natural light ever made it into the basement. With a groan, he sat up, feeling rejuvenated, ready to take on the day. His feet hit the cool cement floor, causing him to wiggle his toes to get used to the new sensation. He raked his fingers through his dirty blond hair, attempting to get it out of his eyes, his bangs were a bit longer than he'd liked.

 ** _"I need a change of clothes."_** Roxas sighed, walking over to a box labeled with his name in sharpie, retrieving a white beater, and slipping it on. (His mother had always called them 'Wife Beaters' since they were the stereotypical clothing choice of drunk men with tempers.) His blue jeans were still pretty-clean from yesterday, and Roxas, being a bit of a slob didn't mind giving them a second go-round for the day.

Since he was all dressed, he thought it appropriate the make his way upstairs. The bright August sunlight stung his eyes, taking him a moment to adjust. Roxas was so jealous of those who could partake in caffeine, so many people seemed as if they could live on a strictly coffee diet, he just couldn't get past the taste.

The basement door was accessible only through the kitchen, where he was standing, looking out the bay window into his back yard. The lawn was between a yellow and green in color, not sure if it should just give up or keep trying. Roxas had an angsty thought about how he identifies with that same notion, he wasn't quite sure what he was doing either.

With that line of thinking aside, Roxas decided to go and wake his mother up.

Once in the living room, he saw his mother's sleeping form. The dress she was wearing as hiked up, drool oozing out of her open mouth, he thanked the heavens above she was wearing underwear. Roxas gave her a gentle shake at her shoulder, calling out to her to wake up and that it was late. She mumbled in response, obviously awake but keeping her eyes shut. This irritated the boy, causing him to sigh.

"Lucinda." He reverted to using her real name, which usually worked in getting a response.

Still nothing.

"Mom, get up. I'm hungry, plus you said a couple days ago you were going to enroll me in school before the weekend was over." It was true, she had skipped on it yesterday so they could attend the party, but it was Sunday now, and if he wasn't enrolled today he'd have to wait until next week. Roxas wasn't all too excited to go to school, but the thought of sitting around their home was beyond unappealing.

"Oh, so now the boy wants to go to school." She spat, pulling her dress down, before pivoting herself so she was sitting upright, her hands covering her face. Roxas knew she was a bitch when she was first getting up, especially with a hangover, who could blame her though?

"Well, yeah sort of. I don't want to be cooped up here that's for sure." Roxas replied, sitting down next to her, eyeing her intended cigarette pack she had fallen asleep on. His mother noticed his hungry look, wanting one herself.

"Go ahead, and light me one too while you're at it." Her words fell of her tongue like gravel, her throat scratchy from all the bile that had burned it last night. Roxas did as he was told, grabbing two cancer sticks and plopping them in his mouth, pulling his lighter out of his worn jeans and setting them both aflame before passing one to his mother. "and, yes, I'll take you to the school, just let me gather myself first."

They sat there and smoked in silence a moment, he was trying not to badger her too much. Roxas knew she had to work the night shift later, 8:30pm to 5am, at Moody's. It was a cow theme dinner which sat in the middle of town, open 24/7. She had most likely wanted to sleep in a little longer, and he appreciated her taking him there, he couldn't imagine having to work such long hours.

After they'd finished their smoke, his mother disappeared into her bedroom for a little while, presumably getting dressed, he didn't mind, it was only one in the afternoon and they had plenty of time to get there. He just sat on the couch, playing some mindless strategy game on his phone.

She returned some time later, a disinterested look on her face.

"You ready Roxas?"

He was.

Range Point High, it was about six miles from their house, a short drive so they arrived around 2pm. It was rather small, only three stories high with a small courtyard encircling it. They had problems with overcrowding, about 60 kids per class. It was the only public school in town, meaning the under privileged got the pleasure of being shoved in this brick encrusted palace like sardines while the big fish went to the prestigious Range Point Academy.

While making their way inside, they saw just how full to the brim it really was, they had a line wait of about twenty minutes just to go see the principal.

"It's a God damn zoo in here." His mother whispered to him, pointing to a boy through the window to the hallway, said boy was a bit older than Roxas. He was making taking a girl by the hand to the boy's bathroom, not even caring that he was in plain sight of the principal. "The whole place makes me want to take a bath."

 _"Next!"_

Both Roxas and his mother jolted, turning their attentions away from the debauchery they'd just witnessed to a bald man in his mid-forties sporting a dress shirt and loose tie. The Principal. Walking in, Roxas looked around, the man's office was built to be semi-private, a big glass window was between him and the students in the hallway, pictures of his wife was littered on his desk.

 ** _"His wife is much younger, he must have a wonderful personality since looks are definitely getting him nowhere."_** Roxas observed, he felt sort of bad for making such a brash judgement, but he couldn't stop his mind from being unpleasant, he left that job to his tongue.

"Please, take a seat." The principal gestured to the two faux leather seats adjacent from his desk, they obliged his offer and took a seat. "I'm Mr. Brooks, very nice to meet you both."

"Nice to meet you as well." They both retorted the mandatory pleasantry back to the man, like a couple of parrots.

"Lucinda, and Roxas Strife I take it? We have most of the paperwork filled out already with the information you've provided on the phone." He was looking at Roxas' mother now, and she was nodding along. "All we need is a few signatures, and to give you guys a look around, it was actually perfect timing since the school day is all but over. Once the paperwork is done, I'm sure the class rooms will be empty."

The three of them were walking down the corridors Mr. Brooks was correct in his assumption, only a few stragglers were left behind, chatting around their lockers, making plans for the evening. Some stared at the Roxas, but most didn't seem to care, they were used to the incoming flow of new students every few months. Roxas felt like a needle in a haystack in this place.

As they passed by different classrooms, Mr. Brooks took Roxas in each one to meet the teacher who taught the subjects. Mathematics, Political Studies, Home Economics, Physical Education, Geometry, etc. All of the teachers seemed nice in their own way, but then again…First impressions are always misleading.

They had made it to the last room in the school, located on the second floor on the east wing, by this point Roxas and his mother were bored, tracking along behind the man not wanting to seem rude.

"We're going to meet Mr. Flynn, he's one of my favorite educators here, and he's a student favorite too." Mr. Brooks said in a praising tone.

 ** _"Science-Room #47."_** Roxas read the door, suppressing the yawn in his throat. Mr. Brooks knocked once, then pushed the door open.

"Just a minute," The man called, out of sight behind his laptop, he seemed to be talking on the phone to someone. Roxas would hear the occasion _"You too sweetie."_ and _"I'll_ be _home soon."_ Being whispered from where he was sitting. The voice sounded a bit familiar, but instead of thinking about it farther Roxas eyed the room he was in, it was normal enough, a dry erase board sat at the front of the room, lab tables facing towards it, and Mr. Flynn's desk toward the back.

It was a moment before he heard the door close with a snap, and Roxas finally caught a glimpse of this "Mr. Flynn." He was in mid mid-to-late twenties, tall man, close to a foot taller than Roxas, with reddish brown locks, tied in a low hanging pony tail, absinth colored eyes that were very hard to read.

Roxas tensed, this, was unmistakably who had he met yesterday, and the initial shock grew to a low anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach. He felt dirty for some reason, like, instead of having a clean slate with his new professor he was now going to be thought of as the punk poor kid who smokes.

Roxas knew he shouldn't care what others thought of him, he just felt bad for his mother, who he knew would be judged in the process as well. Roxas looked to his mother, she was curing her ginger hair like a grade schooler, keeping her dark eyes trained on his teacher/neighbor, giving him, "The look"

 ** _"Oh gross."_** Roxas remarked inwardly, Lucinda, his mother, really was a person who needed instant gratification. Hence why she was so impulsive. It made Roxas pretty angry sometimes, he just wished that she would focus on herself, instead of using that attention on others. She always gets dumped, always gets hurt. Roxas wanted his mother to be happy.

It seemed he was used to the attentions of single mothers, because he either didn't notice, or was just playing it cool.

"Sorry to keep you folks waiting," Axel half chuckled, sauntering over to the three of us. He acted as if he had never met the blond, eyeing them each equally.

"It's totally alright, Mr. Flynn, but let's leave the personal calls to a minimum. Even your wife can surely wait another hour until you get home" Mr. Brooks said in a friendly manner, his mothers face only faltering a bit, she still had a flirtatious air about her.

"This is your new student Roxas and his mother Mrs. Strife." Mr. Brooks spoke plainly.

 ** _"Hell, maybe he'd forgotten already."_** Roxas thought to himself, staring blankly at the man.

"H-hello." Roxas fumbled to spit out, this entire situation making him really uncomfortable.

"It's very nice to meet you Roxas, and your mother as well. I know that you're about a week behind but I have to qualms in helping you catch up." Axel patted Roxas' arm, giving him a cloying smile. "Oh!, I have some text books for you if you'd like to read up tonight, if not a little bit."

Roxas nodded, "Sure."

 ** _"Whatever helps me leave faster."_**

Axel made his way over to a large peach cabinet, reaching inside, taking out a large book, he then proceeded to rip a paper off of his desk and wrote on it a bit before sticking it back inside the book. He handed the book to Roxas, the same smile pasted on his face.

"I wrote down a few specific chapters you should read, they're sure to _enlighten_ you on the subject we're dealing with." Axel spoke, before turning his attention back to his mother and Principal.

"Again, it was very nice to meet you all." Axel gave Lucinda a big, toothy grin. "See you bright and early tomorrow morning Roxas."

They all said their goodbyes, Mr. Brooks escorting then to the front door. Once he and his mother were in the Volvo, Lucinda shrieked like a teenager, beginning her confessions.

"Roxas, I think your teacher likes me, did you see the way he was looking at me? I mean, he's a few years younger than me but-"

Roxas cut her off with a groan.

"Mom I just want to go home." Roxas didn't want to hear another word, I mean, he was glad in a sense that she had some of her charisma back, and yes even though his mother was a few years older than Mr. Flynn she was decent looking for her age and probably could sleep with him if she wanted but, it would only lead to her ultimate unhappiness.

"Well, I'm sorry. I forget I'm your mom sometimes yknow. I always want to go off and blather to you like your my girlfriend or something." She sighed, and it made Roxas feel utterly horrible, killing her pride like that.

"I love you." Roxas said, leaning over to give his mother a hug.

She responded back with the same, squeezing her son tight.

The drive back was quiet.

-After his mother left for work, Roxas decided to nuke himself a frozen dinner and check out that science book.

 ** _"Might as well have some idea of what they were talking about,"_** Roxas thought, sitting down at the kitchen table with both objects. He was flipping through the pages with one hand, and forking spoon-fulls of orange chicken into his mouth with the other. He came across Mr. Flynn's note near the back of the textbook, and what it said caused him to literally drop his fork.

"I don't like being lied to, Roxas."

The 'what if's' began to fill his mind once more.


	3. Unbelievable

This chapter is REALLY bad, I'm going to revise it soon.

Review with any ideas of how to improve the story, it sure helps out.

Roxas eyed the brick building, it reminded him more-so of a prison today, a feeling of uneasiness consumed him.

"Have a nice day." His mother chirped, giving his textured blond hair a ruffle. Roxas parroted her words, before he slammed the door shut, getting out of the Volvo. He took deep breaths through his pert nose, thinking back to the letter that had kept him awake most of the night.

"I don't like being lied to, Roxas."

Roxas shook his head, as his mother pulled out of the parking spot and eventually off the premises.

 ** _"Today's going to be, interesting."_** He thought, making his way toward to main entrance, cornflower blue orbs scanning his schedule.

 _First Period-Physical Education_

 _Second Period-Geometry_

 _Third Period-Art History_

 _Fourth Period-Lunch/Study Hall_

 _Fifth Period-Science_

It was the last that he was truly dreading, Roxas had no idea how to face the man who had called him out for lying, and doing illegal activity on his property. It wasn't like he was too concerned about Mr. Flynn telling on him or something, it was just, awkward since he was obviously pissed off enough to leave him a note.

 ** _"At least my initial impression wasn't misleading, now he knows I'm a degenerate firsthand."_** Roxas sighed, feeling somewhat relieved that he had the entire day to think it over before having to deal with Mr. Flynn, or well Axel, face to face.

While weaving through the mosh-pit of a hallway to his locker, it dawned on him that he had forgotten his Gym clothes. He cursed internally, shoving his backpack into the iron cabinet. I wasn't like he wanted to skip first period, it was his first day of school which meant that there was plenty of time to start hating this place. No, it was just too easy. He was new here, meaning he wouldn't even be on the attendance list yet. So, he hatched a plan, he was going to wait out the first class in the field house. It was located just outside, next to the parking lot, he had passed it on his way in. Roxas just prayed it wasn't locked.

It didn't take Roxas long to make it to the field house, he acted nonchalant while testing the door knob, so as not to seem suspicious, it clicked and spun causing him to grin at this mini-victory.

 ** _"Yes, now to enjoy some alone time before I return to the herd."_** Roxas thought, making his way inside. The field house, as he suspected, was filled with various equipment from volleyball nets to folding chairs for the school functions. He grabbed one of the chairs, setting it up in the middle of the room, sitting down in it, then opened his backpack up digging through it for his pack of smokes his mother had given him this morning. He put one to his lips, lighting it up with his handy-dandy zippo, taking a long hull off of it.

"So, you're skipping too?"

Roxas spun around, looking for the source of the voice. To his surprise, a girl about his age, maybe a year or so older, stood up behind a barrel of soccer balls from where he'd been hiding. He'd probably assumed Roxas was a coach coming to get something.

The girl in question, jumped dodged and ducked her way over to the bewildered Roxas. She was a quite pretty, mid-length auburn hair was tucked into messy pigtails with choppy bangs that hung just above her charcoal lined blue eyes. She was adorned in a worn leather jacket, and ripped jeans, but not the trendy kind you'd buy from a store, the kinds of rips and tears that took years of abuse to achieve.

"Just gonna sit and stare are ya?" She giggled, standing next to him now, awaiting a response.

"Oh, sorry, um...I didn't mean to take your spot, I can go if you want." Roxas said, defeatedly.

"No way! I can share, that is, if you do." She eyed his cigarette pack, then glanced at him questioningly.

Roxas nodded, his stress melting away as he put one of his smokes in her lithe fingers.

"I'm Kairi by the way," She spoke before lighting up her smoke, leaning against the barrel she was hiding behind. "I haven't seen you around before."

"I just moved to town, like, almost a week ago. I'm Roxas."

"What grade?" She asked, flicking her cigarette ashes into her hands before rubbing it into her jeans.

"Sophomore, just turned sixteen in July."

Kairi's brows furrowed. "Damn, I mean, you're cute and all but I have this thing where I can only be attracted to guys who are older than me. Chock it up to daddy issues." She spoke, confidence dripping off every word she spoke.

Roxas was taken aback by the (sort of) compliment, "Y-yeah, me too." He deflected jokingly, he always used humor to defuse awkward conversations. He wasn't gay by any means, in fact, he was quiet attracted to the girl as far as looks, she reminded him of his ex-girlfriend back in Ohio.

Kairi snorted, "Well, we're in the same grade at least. I stayed back, I should be a senor but as you can see I do love to skip out."

"Well I should get my shit together then, don't want to end up hiding in field houses flirting with guys for cigarettes in a year's time." Roxas said teasingly, receiving another chucked from the girl.

"I like you." Kairi retorted plainly, putting her cigarette out on her boot. "What've you got for classes today?"

He reached into his pocket for his folded up schedule, handing her his schedule. She looked it over, a small smile gracing her features.

"We have a few classes together; Phys Ed, Art, and Science. Plus the same lunch period." She handed it back. "Let's be friends okay?"

"Let's." Roxas agreed.

They continued on that way for a while, bantering, talking about music, family life, etc. He learned that they both were sans a father through the majority of their lives, which only caused them to bond further.

 _ **"I need to make this work, extinguish my loneliness."**_

Time went by quickly through-out the day, he was behind in all of his classes, so instead of paying attention he and Kairi took to snickering in the back of them. During Art they played a movie on the life of Jackson Pollock, Kairi, having seen it before twice now mouth along with it mockingly.

Mrs. Greene stopped the movie, tired of her outbursts. "Ms. Russet, since you've been in this class a few times now, and obviously know everything about the artist can you give us a fact about him?"

The entire class had eyes on her, awaiting her response, some chuckling.

"Jackson Pollock was an over-rated drunk who just splattered paint on the floor, all you really need to know." Kairi grinned, leaning back in her seat triumphantly.

Their classmates laughed loudly, and Mrs. Greene was furious at her statement, quickly sending her to the office, then turning the movie back on, shushing the classroom.

Roxas didn't see Kairi during lunch, presumably she was kept in the office to get a talking to, not allowed to have her free time. He sat alone, headphones in waiting for the time to pass.

Roxas was nervous, beyond nervous, walking up the stairs to the last class of the day. He was grateful to see Kairi waiting next to the Science room's open door, at least he wouldn't have to walk in alone.

"Hey Kai." He waved, jogging over to her.

"Already making up nick-names are we?" She raised a brow, before switching the subject. "I'm so done with this place today, and my bong is calling me, wanna tag along?"

Kairi wanted him to skip another class, and Roxas was intrigued. Roxas preferred to avoid conflict at every cost, it wasn't like his mother would care.

"Sur—" Roxas began to say, but was dumbstruck by no other than Mr. Flynn standing behind her, absinth eyes fixated on the back of Kairi's head, an apparent scowl on his face. She didn't notice he was there until he piped up.

"Wanna come join me in my inevitable trip to the bottom? We can listen to angsty music and paint each other's toenails!" Mr. Flynn said mockingly, with a high pitched voiced and feminine mannerisms to boot. Kairi shot him a disgusted look, moving away from him a few steps. Mr. Flynn proceeded to gesture toward the classroom, giving both of them, especially Roxas a stern look.

They obliged, Kairi walking inside in a huff, and Roxas looking at the ground. They made their way to the back of the room, the rest of the seats already taken. Their classmates chattered around them, while Mr. Flynn took to the front of the room and began to give them the lesson.

Roxas kept his eyes glued to his textbook, not wanting to draw unnecessary attention to himself, hoping that when the bell rang he could sneak out in the sea of other teens. Just then, as if the Gods of Irony themselves were gracing him he felt a tap on his shoulder. He knew who it was before he even looked up, Kairi had sat behind him, and when he turned to look, she was holding out a slip of paper.

Roxas debated taking it, surely anything she had to say could wait until class was over, but the urgent look she was giving him, caused him to ignore that reasoning. He grabbed the slip of paper, stealthily, bringing it in front of him and opening it up.

 _"Mr. Flynn is just pissed that his wife is cheating on him."_ Roxas couldn't help but snicker, if only slightly. Roxas always found it strange when you learn compromising information about any upstanding public figure. It humanized them.

The bell rang a little while later, and people began shuffling out of the room while Mr. Flynn attempted to talk over the bell, reminding them of their homework assignments on the way out. Roxas took this as a cue to leave himself, gathering his notebooks in his arms and began making his way out.

"You're all dismissed," Mr. Flynn called out after finishing his homework pep-talk. "Except you Roxas, I would like to speak to you."

Roxas' heart sank, his heart began beating at twice to speed. He exchanged a look to Kairi, to which she shrugged her shoulders in an uncaring fashion, making her way out. It was just the two of them, left with nothing but time. Time to talk, and Roxas couldn't avoid it any longer.

"Y-yes?" Roxas asked, still not making eye contact with the elder red-head.

Axel, looked the boy over, before grinning. "It seems in the short time you've been here you've already made an impact." He said, strolling past him to close the door. Roxas reminded silent, not quite sure what kind of point he was making with that statement.

"I'm sorry." Roxas admitted, clutching his text book a bit tighter. He would say whatever it took to end this little chat they were having.

Axel sat down at his desk, putting one leg over and began tapping his finger against the hard wood of the desk. "For what?"

Roxas was flush, his mouth felt dry as he racked his mind for the right words, failing miserably.

"About the other day, yknow…" He started, but was interrupted.

"You should really look at the person you're talking to." Axel said plainly, letting Roxas continue.

Roxas looked up near imminently, and matched Axel's gaze. It was off putting, and a bit eerie to say the least. "I, just, feel bad. I shouldn't have been drinking on your property."

"You shouldn't be drinking in general, or smoking." Axel spat, gaze unwavering.

"I know, but…you know how kids are, the folly of youth and all that…" Roxas grabbed the back of his neck sheepishly trying to deflect.

"Don't blame your youth for idiocy."

"I'm not an idiot." Roxas spoke up, giving Axel and incredulous look.

"Then don't act like one."

Roxas concluded that the niceness that he had received yesterday was clearly staged, Axel was a bit more calculated. What did he hope to achieve with this conversation? Did he want to be Roxas' self help guru or something?

Roxas was dumbfounded, and they sat in silence.

"Can I-I leave now?" Roxas stuttered, looking at the floor once more.

"Sure, I'll see you at dinner." Axel responded, his smirk couldn't be any wider.

 ** _"What in the hell?"_** Roxas' head spun to give his teacher a puzzled look.

"Your mother invited me over, she seems like a lovely woman."

With that, Roxas nodded. He didn't know how to respond, it was all happening so fast, then again his mother always did move quickly.

"Um…see you later then." Roxas said, making a quick stride out of the room. He could feel Mr. Flynn's gaze bore into him as he left.

Kairi was sitting on the stairs, waiting patiently for her new friend. Once he caught up to her, she smiled.

"You don't drive right? Do you need a ride home?" Kairi questioned.

"Yeah, sure." Roxas asked, lost in thought, eyes wide.

"So…how did that go?" She raised a brow, noticing his concerned look.

Roxas stopped walking, looking especially serious.

"I think Mr. Flynn is going to bang my mom."


End file.
